Alessandro Verre
This is the first time I've worn the leader's jersey in a stage race, and what's more, it's here in Italy, my home country, near Turin, in a Grand Tour: the Vuelta. This morning when I got on the bus, Roger (Roger Tréhin, Sports Director) said to me, ‘Get your jerseys ready in case you make it to the podium, because today you have carte blanche to go for the breakaway.’ That motivated me, and everything went well. I was the last to catch up with the breakaway group, and after that everything went well, even though I was never comfortable.
I'm happy to wear this white jersey with blue polka dots as the best climber in a Grand Tour. I took the risk of losing. I didn't panic when my opponents attacked far from the summit. I let them go, then I caught up with everyone. I won the sprint. I waited today, whereas usually I'm the one who launches this kind of attack. I want to enjoy this first leader's jersey in a World Tour event, in the Vuelta, because I know that tomorrow it will be almost impossible to keep it. The favourites for the overall classification will no doubt battle it out among themselves. But wearing this jersey tonight is already a great moment of happiness for the whole ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team and me.
